We crossed the Atlantic in two floating cars

In the summer of 1999, in the Atlantic Ocean, a merchant ship spotted two small cars, a Volkswagen Passat and a Ford Taunus, bobbing along – with two Italian men sitting on top.

The two young men were Marco Amoretti and his friend Marco de Candia. And the brainchild behind the crossing was Marco Amoretti’s father, Giorgio.

Giorgio Amoretti was a rebel and adventurer who had travelled the world in outlandish ways. His big dream was to sail across the Atlantic in a floating car and he had spent years planning the trip. But when Giorgio fell seriously ill, his three sons and their friend Marco de Candia set out to make his dream come true.

They adapted two cars for the sea journey and drove them from their home in Italy to Las Palmas in the Canaries. There they waterproofed them, added sails, and filled them with polyurethane foam so they would float. On the roof they installed a dinghy with a tent, where they could sleep. Then, with just a solar-powered satellite phone, dry foods and tanks of water on board, they launched – two men per car.

At first, the cars went around in circles just off the coast without catching the current. After 10 days of seasickness, two of the brothers called for rescue. But Marco Amoretti and his friend Marco de Candia carried on. They got used to life at sea and spent their time fishing, writing in their diaries and listening to music. Every day they would call home, where Marco’s mother Serenella was looking after Giorgio. Then the satellite phone broke and nobody knew where they were….

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Vibeke Venema

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(Photo: Marco Amoretti and Marco de Candia stand on one of the floating cars Credit: Marco Amoretti)